6 Feb

The story of Joseph and his brothers is a story of jealousy, rivalry, and ultimately, egos clashing against one another. After Joseph finds a high position of power in Egypt, he struggles to forgive his brothers and instead seeks to punish them for their previous wrongs against him. By planting the silver cup inside Benjamin’s sack, he is framing him for a crime that could be punished severely. Joseph could likely enslave all of his brothers because of such a theft, but instead is moved by Judah’s pleading and show of love for his brother. In effect, Joseph seeks to take advantage of God’s mercy in bringing him out slavery and do to his brothers the same thing they had done to him. Joseph has let his status at the “beloved son” go to his head and used his power for bad. The response by the brothers is profound in that they reverse the cycle of revenge. Benjamin becomes isolated from the rest of the group because the cup is found in his belongings. At this point, they are faced with a similar decision as the one at the “beginning of the tale”, on whether or not to “rid themselves of a favored sibling” (Andersen 208). Interestingly, Judah comes to the aid of Benjamin, the same brother who first came up with the idea to sell Joseph into slavery (see Gn 37:27). Judah and the rest of their brothers have become freed of the envy which crippled their love for their brother Joseph. The relationship between Joseph and his brothers had been injured, but God shows through the story forgiveness is possible in any situation. Brother-on-brother conflict again shows itself as a prominent theme within the stories of the patriarchs, from the fratricide of Abel, to the stealing of Esau’s birthright, and finally here in the enslavement of Joseph.